Footprints in the Sand
by emmadotlouise
Summary: Inside Chapter 4: Roka causes more chaos, and Syaoran and the others find that Sakura's nephew isn't as angelic as he looks...
1. Chapter One

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Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I never have and I never will.

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Summary: By day, she's a host on the local radio, by night, just another waitress at a café in downtown Tomoeda. Life's hard for Kinomoto Sakura, and it's about to get even harder. Especially when _he_ shows up again... AU

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Notes: Here's the deal. Both Sakura and Syaoran are very OOC here. This fic is an AU, and most likely an S+S. Both Syaoran and Sakura are thirty. An interesting fact came to me. Sakura is actually older than Syaoran. If you think about it, Sakura's birthday is April 1, and Syaoran's is sometime in July, I have a feeling that it's July 13, but I'm not very sure... so that makes Sakura four months older than Syaoran. Useless information, ne? ^_^;; Sorry, I have a habit of rambling. Anyway, on with the story.

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Footprints in the Sand

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You know what? Life has always been difficult for me, particularly when it comes to the area of getting jobs. I've also had more than my fair share of slime around me too. It hasn't always been all that nice. My brother always told me to get a decent job that paid well. I didn't really listen to him. He also told me not to fall for Li Syaoran. I didn't listen to that either. I ended up falling for him, hard. I haven't always been the brightest around, one would say that I'm very dense. I like to say that I've improved with time, but I guess I haven't. It's not easy, being me.

I've been learning different languages since I left high school, the odd night class between jobs. Right now, I work as a radio host during the day, and a waitress at night. I guess you could say that my life sucks right now. I get to see my nephew, Roka, quite often. I'm thirty years old, and still my love life is going slowly, ever so slowly, down the drain. Pretty soon it's going to become a whirlpool. My life is unpredictable like that.

I've been working on the radio show for as long as I can remember. It seems to be the only thing in my life that's stable. I work there during the day, talking on the air, playing the songs. Life seems to be easy, but I don't think it is. Maybe it's time to move on...

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

Sakura collapsed onto her bed after another hard night at work. She'd been flat off her feet all day. Her hand lazily hit the messages button on her bedside phone and the machine told her that she had a message. Hitting _play_ it said:

'Hey monster. Roka misses you. He hasn't seen you in a while. Feel free to come in anytime. We keep hearing you on the radio and we're all missing you, okay? Come and see us. Okay, later.'

Sakura groaned. She felt like passing out on her bed. She curled up underneath the covers and was about to drift off to sleep when the doorbell rang. Throwing an irritated, half-sleepy glare at her clock, she noted that it was 3am in the morning. If whatever it was wasn't important, she was gonna shoot the person at the door. Sakura kicked the covers off and walked down to the front door, occasionally banging into the wall. She cursed under her breath when a statue fell off its pedestal and crashed onto the concrete floor. Oops, the landlord was going to be overly happy about that. Just another thing to add to her ever-growing list of bills... what a life.

"Yeah?" Sakura asked sleepily as she opened the door. She stood there for a few moments, still blinking sleepily and not registering who was at the door.

"Geez, monster, this is the welcome we get?" Touya asked.

"Sor," – Sakura yawned loudly – "Sorry. I haven't got much sleep for the past few months. I'm a bit tired."

"I'll say. Just look at your pyjamas." Touya laughed.

"Okay, you're way too perky and you're frightening me. Also, you diss the pyjamas and you're out, kapeesh?" Sakura opened her door a bit more and stepped aside. "How can you be so cheerful at 3am in the morning? It's way too early to be even thinking of waking up. I'm due at work in three hours. I need sleep."

"We figured that this was the only time that you'd be home. Sorry for waking you, auntie Sakura," Roka said shyly, making Sakura smile.

"You know what kid? Usually I'd be shouting bloody murder if someone was on my doorstep early in the morning, but for you I'll make an exception." Sakura crouched down to her nephew's height. "I'm not going to be happy when you've grown up."

"Why?" Roka was confused.

"Because I like you just the way you are."

"Monster, that sounds like some line from a cheesy song," Touya remarked.

"Touya, one would think that you would've grown up by now," Sakura replied blatantly. She patted Roka's head and pointed them through to the barely used living room. She wasn't home all that often and she didn't have much money to throw around on expensive furniture or anything, as she just had enough to keep her head above water... for now. She had been finding the demands on her time a little tedious now, and they were slowly but surely wearing her down. She hadn't been sleeping much lately, and even found herself dozing halfway through hosting one of the radio shows that she did.

No one knew much about her private life or such. They only knew her by name, but she was a forgettable person. She wasn't all that tall. Average, average and more average. Her brown hair was relatively short after a recent hair disaster which had involved her hairdresser cutting her hair into a straight length bob cut. It had looked absolutely horrible. She'd had to endure spiteful remarks about her appearance for months, but now that it was longer, more like just under her shoulder blades, she had been thinking of getting it layered. Sakura hadn't had much time though, so she had made do with what she had had.

"Auntie Sakura, do you ever have anyone over?" Roka asked.

Wasn't he the blunt one? "Not often, honey. I'm too busy."

"That's what you always say," Touya mumbled.

"Touya, the door is that way," Sakura said, pointing stiff-armed to the door. "You can wait out there in the cold while Roka and I finish our milo."

"What about mine?" he asked.

"Take it out with you. Hold on," Sakura said. She went to the kitchen and pulled out some polystyrene cups. Pulling one out, she went back to the table and began pouring Touya's milo into the now rapidly filling container. "Not everything is what it seems, Roka. I don't use glass cups because I usually break them. Either that, or the dog that runs through my house on a daily basis does."

"You have a dog?" Roka asked. "Cool! Can I see him?"

"He ain't my dog. His name's Kero and he's an absolute pig. He belongs to the people next door." Sakura gave Touya the cup and sat down again. "I'd want to have a dog, but I just don't have the time. Who would look after it? Who'd keep it company?"

"I would," Roka chimed in. "Dad, can I keep him?"

Touya looked down at Roka with a raised eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be monster's dog?"

"Well... kinda. I really want a dog though! Please, please, please! Can I have one!? Please!!" Roka begged.

"He doesn't get that from me," Touya stated, looking at Sakura. "You must be around him too much."

"Was I really that bad?" Sakura was surprised.

Touya nodded. "Yeah, only sometimes though. There's the puppy face... that one I can never forget. It's what you would use on anyone when you wanted something. It worked pretty much all the time."

"Do I do that?" Roka asked.

Innocence, that boy had. "Keep that, Roka. It's good for you," Sakura said with a laugh, patting him on the head and smiling.

"Hey, watch the hair!" Roka protested, trying to brush her hand off his head.

Sakura and Touya just both laughed, watching the comical act. Kids were a blast, that much was certain.

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

"I'm signing off, me, Kinomoto Sakura," Sakura said into the microphone, "See you tomorrow everyone, same time, same time, same channel. Goodnight." With a triumphant push of a button, she was off air and grinning, then the smile faltered. That was right, she had traded shifts with someone tonight. She had traded because of Roka's birthday. It had been last week and she'd sworn to Touya that she would go. She had been working that night, but had managed to guilt one of her colleagues into working the shift. Okay, so she owed them a couple of favours now, but it sure was better than missing out on her nephew's birthday. He had been turning six and Touya had thrown him a big party for him and all of his friends.

Sakura removed the big headphones from her ears and gave a sigh, reminiscing on the previous week's events. She'd experienced so many fun things the past week that she hadn't had for a long time. Why, last week had been more fun than the entire year.

"Hey, Sakura? The manager needs to talk to you," one of her assistants, Mareo, poked his head through the door.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. "What would he need to talk to me about?"

"I don't know exactly. He just said that he needed you ASAP. I have to go now. It's my youngest kid's birthday soon and I need to get him a present. See ya."

"Okay, Mareo. Good luck and have fun," Sakura called out the door. She got off her swivelling chair and stood up, her mood and facial expression one in the same, puzzled. _"What would the manager want me for...?" _Sakura thought. _I haven't done anything wrong... have I? I know that I've been a bit distracted lately, but he wouldn't need to call me up to his office for that, would he?"_

Sakura walked out of her recording room and up the stairs slowly. With each step she took, a random new theory took hold in her mind. Soon she had a whole bunch of outrageous thoughts, and not one clue of what was happening.

"Rei, what is it?" she asked, poking her head through the door.

"Come in, Sakura. Please, take a seat," Rei gestured at the seat situated in front of his desk.

Sakura nodded and complied. "What do you need me for?" she asked.

"Sakura, I have a feeling that you're going to take this very hard... please, just know that it wasn't my decision. The investors in this place are cutting costs and we don't need so many people as we have now."

"What does this mean?" Sakura asked. She held her breath, but nothing could have prepared her for the words that were about to come out of Rei's mouth.

"You're fired."

"WHAT?!"

"You have one week left in this place, then you're out of here."

"Look, Rei, I know that I've been slacking a bit and all, but I _need_ this job. If I don't have the money that this job supplies me with, I'm as good as dead. Please, Rei, help out a friend."

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but there's nothing that I can do."

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Shit.

"Try getting in touch with this person." Rei handed over a business card. "He might be able to help you."

Sakura took the business card from Rei and put it in her pocket. "Right. Bye," she said coldly and went to leave the room.

"Sakura, please know that this wasn't my decision. I couldn't have effected the outcome, even if I wanted to."

"Right." And she left the room, slamming the door behind her with a bang.

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

"Just my bloody day," Sakura muttered over and over to herself. "What else could possibly go wrong?"

"Hey, lady! Look out!" a voice called. Someone crashed into her with a skateboard and Sakura went sprawling to the ground, her limbs akimbo.

"Watch where you're going!" she yelled at the boy, who was quivering under her fierce stare. Sakura was no taller than 5'4", but she could win any staring contest.

"Y-Y-Yes mam," he stuttered and he picked up his skateboard and rode away. Sakura sighed, dropping the act. She was too tired to keep it up. _"This day sucks,"_ she thought. _"What else can possible go wrong?"_

Soon after she arrived at her apartment, the phone rang. Sakura looked over at the caller ID and grimaced. It was her work place down at the café. She picked up the phone and said, "Sakura here."

"Kinomoto, get your ass down here. We're full up and busy as hell."

"Why should I? I don't start work for another hour. I'm tired." She was irritable, and didn't feel like being bossed around.

"Screw you. If you don't get down here, you're fired."

"Good riddance!" Sakura yelled into the phone and hung up.

She'd always hated that job. Maybe it was time to get something better. Oh heck... she had nothing to do. Time to make a trip down to the pub.

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

"Another beer over here!" Sakura called out, thumping more money down on the bar counter. She was sitting on a stool situated near the end of the bench.

"Mind if I sit here?" a voice asked.

"No, sure, go ahead," Sakura waved a hand at the stool next to her and knocked back the beer. "What's your name?"

"Li Syaoran," the voice said.

Sakura was really too drunk to care. "Li Syaoran, huh? Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"I don't know. You?"

"Sakura, that's all you need to know. Whoa." Sakura dropped her glass on the ground, fell backwards off her stool, and landed with a loud thump, her head landing the hardest on the concrete floor.

Syaoran got off the stool and crouched down to examine her. Then he noticed something. Blood. That wasn't a good sign. "Bartender, call an ambulance!" Syaoran yelled. "She needs to get to a hospital!"

"Right." The bartender dialled for the operator and was put through to emergency services. "The ambulance will be here in five minutes."

"Thanks," Syaoran said and he turned his head to examine Sakura again. _"You've really got to be careful, Sakura. I know that your life is hard and all, but you've got to watch yourself."_

Sakura lay still, not moving, even after the ambulance arrived.

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To be continued...

Those of you who have read my fanfic, Wishing Well, would have known that this fanfic was coming sometime soon, and here it is. What did you think? The idea has probably been used before, and I know that the fanfic bears some resemblance to some others posted around here, but I'm going to try to make it different. See ya everyone! ^_^

Review if you want to.

--Kaiwawata

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AKA Karisa Temura


	2. Chapter Two

**Special thanks to:**

**LiL**** DuDeTtE: **Well, here I am updating, and I hope you like this chapter. ^_^ Enjoy!

**demi-kaijuu****:** Yay! And the guardian angel thing might be a good idea... I'll have to see how it goes. Anyhow, enjoy this chapter! ^_^

**CronoCat****:** I thought Roka was pretty cute too. I based him around my six-year-old cousin, who is a real pain in the ass, but he's adorable and it's hard to say no to him. As for TOuya, I based him around my brother. --;; Touya's the older brother I never had. I only have a younger one. --;;

**K a w a i i - S y a o r a n: **It's a little thing called the 'rumour mill'. It happens in most places. ^_^;; Yay, I got the day right! Enjoy! ^_^

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS. I never have and I never will.

**Summary:** By day, she's a host on the local radio, by night, just another waitress at a café in downtown Tomoeda. Life's hard for Kinomoto Sakura, and it's about to get even harder. Especially when _he_ shows up again... AU

**Notes: **Frankly I think that last chapter was a little rushed, but hey, that's me and I'm always fussy with whatever I write. I didn't think that there would be such a reception for this fanfic, so I'm happy! ^_^ I was feeling kind of down earlier after writing **Miss**, but everything is alright now. I have another angsty one-shot songfic in mind, using Delta Goodrem's **Lost Without You**. It seems that I write a lot of angst now... and lots of one-shots. Hm... I think that maybe it's time to stop with the songfics. I already have two, and most of my other ones are already done... Oops. I better let you get on with reading the fanfic, right? I have a really bad habit of rambling on...

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**Footprints in the Sand**

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Sakura opened her eyes, saw daylight, and felt shooting pains through her head. Her instantaneous reaction? "What the hell am I doing here?!" she yelled. "And where's some painkillers when I need them?! My head _hurts_!!" Sakura tried running her fingers through her short hair, but found that their progress was stopped by a bandage that wound itself through her hair and around her head. _"I'm wearing a bandage on my head too! Great, just _great_!" _Sakura thought. _"What else could go wrong?"_

"The nurse will be here soon," a quiet voice said.

Sakura jumped. She hadn't expected that there would be someone in the room with her. She was about to yell again, but seemed to think better of it when another sharp wave of pain coursed through her head.

"How are you feeling?" the voice asked again.

"I have one hell of a headache, but apart from that, I feel okay. I'm a bit dizzy too," Sakura said. "Who _are _you?"

"That seems to be the general consensus. I'm Syaoran, you met me last night."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Back up. Last _night_?!" she practically screeched. "I met you last _night_?!"

"You were at the pub, drank too much, bumped your head, and wound up in hospital. That's all," Syaoran said. "I got the bartender to call the ambulance, and you should be able to be discharged from the hospital today."

"I guess I should thank you," Sakura grumbled. "I always repay my debts."

"I didn't do it so that you'd owe me, you know," Syaoran replied, brown eyes hard. "I saw someone who needed help and I complied. I'm happy that you're feeling better."

"Thanks," Sakura grumbled again. "Can you give me the phone? I need to ring my brother and tell him where I am."

"All taken care of, already. He knows and he said that he would be here to pick you up when you were ready to leave. He said that you'd be staying at his place since you owe a ton of rent at your place and you've been given an eviction notice," Syaoran stated.

"Oh great, just great," Sakura mumbled again, burying her head in her hands. "I try to do things right and I just end up screwing them up even more. What else can go wrong?"

"A heck of a lot more."

"Shut up, you. I was talking to myself."

"First sign of madness you know."

"I'm already mad. Mad at you that is. Go away."

"No."

"What!?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm here until your brother gets here."

"Oh geez... this sucks..."

"Welcome to my world."

"Oh great."

"A bundle of joy and laughter aren't you?"

"Right."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I knew that."

"No, you didn't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Wiseass." Sakura poked her tongue out at Syaoran. "What are you going to be doing here anyway?"

"I have to get into work soon. Your brother said that he would be here in less than an hour, so that gives me time to kill." Syaoran looked at his watch. "We've got twenty minutes of enjoying each other's company."

"Oh yay..." was Sakura's sarcastic answer.

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

"And remember monster... no more alcohol, okay? Bad tempers and alcohol don't mix."

"Yeah. Remember that, auntie Sakura," Roka said, wagging a finger at her in a way that an adult would to a disbelieving little child. "No more being bad girl, okay?"

"Okay, Roka. I'll do that just for you." Sakura managed a wry half-smile.

"Bye byes, auntie Sakura!" Roka crowed triumphantly. "Dad, come on!! We have to gosies!"

Touya's eyes went to Sakura and he arched an eyebrow. "Have you been teaching him baby talk?" he asked.

Sakura just groaned and shut the door in her brother's face.

"Cute kid," a voice commented.

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin for the _second_ time that day. "How can you just appear out of nowhere like that? It's freaking me out."

Syaoran shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just do it, because I do."

"That's one way of putting it."

"Yeah."

"Go away."

"Is that any way to speak to your saver?"

"Just go away." Sakura pointed stiff-armed at the door. "Out."

"No."

"What?!"

"I said no. You know, starts with 'n' and ends with 'o'. Is there anything about that word that you don't understand?"

"Yeah. The first and second letters. Now _out_."

"No."

"I'm warning you, Li Syaoran. Get out of my house now."

"No."

"'No' seems to be your favourite word right now."

"I guess."

"Just go now, I'll deal with you in the evening," Sakura groaned. "I need to pack right now."

"Sure. I'll be back in about three hours to pick you up."

"What are you, my baby-sitter?" Sakura asked. "My brother put you up to this, didn't he?"

"No, as a matter of fact, he didn't."

Sakura was looking at Syaoran with a slightly suspicious facial expression. Ever since she'd met this guy in the bar, he'd been interfering with her normal life on a big scale. It was like he was some sort of big over-protective dog that refused to go away. And speaking of dogs...

"Li, I suggest you stand aside," Sakura said.

"Why?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you..." Sakura grinned and moved out of the way.

Syaoran had a confused expression on his face, but he soon realised what she had meant when a big animal raced out from underneath him. His legs gave way and he landed on the ground hard.

"I told you..." Sakura smirked, looking like the cat that had the cream.

"What was that?" Syaoran asked, getting up off the ground, only to slip again in a huge pool of slobber.

Sakura laughed, pure glee in her eyes. She shook her head, watching Syaoran try to get up again, only to fall over. "That was Kero, the next door neighbour's dog. He runs through here on a daily basis."

"Don't they have a leash for him? Dogs are meant to be controlled around this area."

"Okay, Li, let me get this straight for you. In this part of town, we don't give a damn about the law, okay? If a dog wants to run free, he runs free. I don't object. That's why you're meant to watch out for yourself. The other people around here know my brother and nephew, because they're over here so often, but since they don't know you, they don't care about you." Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Don't think you know everything, okay? Because you don't. I'm not the best person around here either, but I'm a damn sight more known around here than you are. So you better watch out for yourself, because I'm not going to."

"I take it that you want to stay here then," Syaoran stated.

"Yeah, but I've been evicted, so that might be a bit of a problem."

"I'll take care of it. You stay here, and I'll sort everything out."

"Wait, hold on a minute." Sakura went to go after Syaoran, but he'd already left. "Stubborn mule..." Sakura mumbled under her breath before going to get a mop to wipe up the pools of slobber left by Kero.

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

"Roka, wait up!" Touya called.

"Daddy, what's wrong with auntie Sakura?" Roka asked, his six-year-old face scrunched up in confusion.

"Auntie Sakura has issues," Touya said bluntly. "She needs to get a life."

"But doesn't she have one already? I mean, she wouldn't be alive if she didn't have a life, right?" Roka asked, even more confused than he originally had been.

A wry smile came over Touya's face. "Kid, you keep that and everyone will be falling over you."

"Keep what?" Roka asked.

"Don't worry."

"Why does everyone say _'don't worry'_ to me? It gets me so confused. Auntie Sakura, she, she says that all the time." Roka sniffed.

"You shouldn't worry about auntie Sakura. Leave Daddy to worry about auntie Sakura. Daddy already has enough problems with her anyway. One more won't hurt."

"Daddy," Roka said, changing the subject completely, "can we get a dog?"

"Back to that, huh? Roka, it's all a case of wait and see."

"Aw... I wanna know now though!"

Touya grinned. He knew just where that tone of voice had come from and it wasn't from him. "Come on, Roka. We better get home. Auntie Sakura should be home from hospital now."

"Hospitable?!-Auntie-Sakura-was-in-hospitable?!-Is-she-okay?!" Roka said in alarm, jumbling all the words into one whole big sentence.

"She's fine, auntie Sakura just took a bit of a knock to the head. Give her a few days and she'll be as good as normal."

"Is she going out with that guy that we saw her with?" Roka asked.

"Rest assured, Roka, if she is, before she can get to him again, I'll have him bound, gagged, strangled and left out in the dumpster."

"Daddy's violent," Roka stated.

"No, Daddy just takes care of family."

Roka looked dubious. "Okay, if that's what you say it is..."

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

A few hours after Syaoran's brief visit, Sakura was sitting at the table, eating a sandwich while flicking through a magazine. Her face was looking worse for wear after last night and she still had the bandage around her head. There was a knock at the door. Sakura couldn't be bothered going up and getting the door, and she felt really dizzy if she moved too suddenly, so she just yelled out, "It's open!"

The door clicked open and shut again. Sakura was ready with a fire poker if it was that Li Syaoran person again, but it was just Tomoyo. She put the poker away again.

"What's with the poker?" Tomoyo asked, faint puzzlement on her face.

"I have a stalker."

"You do?! Oh my gosh! Can I film him?!"

"Is that all you think about?"

"I haven't had anything to film since we finished high school."

"Wouldn't work be keeping you busy?"

"No, not so much lately. I'm happy to be around town a lot more."

"You travel too much."

"Yeah, I do."

Sakura waved a hand at a chair. "Sit down, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo obliged. "I want to hear more about this stalker person," she said, smiling.

There was a knock at the door.

Sakura sighed and went to open the door, saying on the way, "You're about to. Tomoyo, meet Li Syaoran, the stalker."

_To be continued..._

Well? Good? Bad? Ugly?

As for Roka's run-on sentence, you know that how sometimes little kids say something really fast without taking a breath? That was what happened there. And he said '_hospitable'_, instead of _'hospital'_. I'm basing Roka around my six-year-old cousin who is utterly adorable but totally crazy.

Anyhow, any comments or questions, please tell me.

Review if you want to.

--Kaiwawata

_AKA Karisa Temura_


	3. Chapter Three

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Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I never have and I never will.

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Summary: Inside Chapter 3: When Sakura and Tomoyo leave Syaoran to babysit Sakura's nephew, Roka, Syaoran learns the true meaning of terror. Syaoran and Roka play horsie! Hilarity ensues! AU, S+S

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Notes: Short chapter, so I'll have an even shorter note section. Enjoy!

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Footprints in the Sand

"A stalker now, am I?" Syaoran asked.

"Yeah," Sakura said bluntly, going back to flicking through the magazine. "That's what you are. After all, all that you do is stalk me. I have good reason to call you that."

"You're so anti-social," Syaoran stated.

"Tell me something I don't know," Sakura replied.

"Sure. You're coming to live with me."

"Already knew that, and no I'm not." Sakura turned a page.

"You've been evicted from here?" Tomoyo asked in surprise. "But you love it here."

Sakura's eyes went to Tomoyo. Tomoyo moved her legs out of range again as Kero came barging, but poor old Syaoran hadn't been anticipating the dog coming through again so soon. Syaoran was soon flat on his back.

"You should watch out when that dog comes in," Tomoyo said. "He can be a real shocker."

"You got that right," Syaoran mumbled.

Sakura didn't bother trying to hide her smirk.

Tomoyo held out a hand to help up Syaoran. "Sakura, why don't you try blocking that dog from coming in?"

Sakura shrugged. "Makes life more interesting. Besides, he has a right."

"Okay..."

There was a knock at the door.

"Well, aren't I just Ms Popularity today?" Sakura said, walking to the door. She opened it, saw nothing, and then looked down. Her nephew. "Hi, Roka. What is it, honey?"

"Daddy said you have issues. Is that true?"

"Your daddy ain't far from the truth," Syaoran muttered.

"He did now, did he?" Sakura asked, her eyes narrowing. _Maybe it's time to do what I should have done a long time ago..._ she thought. "Roka, can you stay here with Mr Li while Tomoyo and I go pay a visit to your daddy?"

Roka's eyes went to Syaoran. "Him? The guy that you're going out with?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"So you are?"

"No!"

"Oh..." Roka winked. "I can keep a secret."

Sakura groaned. "You're as bad as your father. Stay here."

"Okay."

"Come on Tomoyo," Sakura said. "Let's go, I have to pay Touya a visit." They both left and shut the door behind them.

Syaoran looked at Roka. "Well, what do you want to do?"

An evil grin came over Roka's face.

__

Uh oh, Syaoran thought. _This isn't going to be good..._

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

"TOUYA!" Sakura thundered when she opened the door, but when she opened it, she saw a sight that completely horrified her, Touya sitting there... with his girlfriend. WAIT?! GIRLFRIEND?!

"Hey, monster, this is Nakuru," Touya said by way of introduction. "I knew her back in high school."

"Already knew her," Sakura said. "I used to talk with Nakuru when I was waiting for you."

"Hi, Sakura," Nakuru said, winking and smiling. "Long time, no see. You should have come to my apartment."

"Have you met Touya's kid yet?" Sakura asked.

"No, but I've heard plenty about him."

"I think you two will get along just fine."

"Monster, where is Roka? I sent him over to your place," Touya said.

Sakura shrugged.

Tomoyo looked from Touya to Sakura and back again. "Roka is back at Sakura's house. Li is looking after him."

Touya grinned. "You're joking right?"

Tomoyo shook her head. "Actually, no, I'm not."

Touya laughed. "It's probably the other way around. I bet Roka is being evil to Li. Monster, if Li manages to survive baby-sitting Roka, you have my permission to date that Li person."

Sakura boiled over and many stress marks appeared on her head. "Why does everyone think that I'm going out with Li?!"

"It's obvious, monster."

"I'm NOT!"

"Tell me, Sakura. Is he cute?" Nakuru asked.

"NO!" Sakura yelled.

Tomoyo interjected. "Actually, Nakuru, he _is_. He's so cute."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why am I stuck with you people?! You're _hopeless_!!"

"If you don't like it, Sakura, you can leave," Touya said. "The door is that way."

Sakura glared daggers at her brother. "The things I have to deal with..." she mumbled. "Why me...?"

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

"Horsie! Horsie! Horsie!" Roka yelled.

"No more horsie," Syaoran said. "My back hurts."

Tears welled up in Roka's eyes and he opened his mouth to wail.

Syaoran went into defensive mode. "Okay, okay, we'll play horsie, but please don't cry."

Roka's 'depressive' mood vanished. Instantly he was happy and cheerful again as he climbed onto Syaoran's back. "Go horsie go!" he cried and kicked Syaoran's ribs with his heels.

"Horsie hurts..." Syaoran mumbled to himself.

"What you say?" Roka asked.

"Nothing, Roka, nothing." Syaoran started moving around on his hands and knees. Baby-sitting was not fun. He knew that now. He had not known what he had been getting himself into when he had started to babysit Roka, now he knew what terror was. Terror was Roka incarnate.

"Go! Go! GO!" Roka yelled.

Syaoran collapsed, his hands and knees giving way, and both fell to the ground.

"Horsie died..." Roka said, blinking. "Oopsies..."

Syaoran groaned inwardly. When Sakura got home, she was going to pay...

__

To be continued...

Short chapter. Chapters will be short. Hopefully chapters will be funny. It seems that I'm doing okay with humour right now. Let me know if you laughed, okay? Or if you were reading with a raised eyebrow all through this chapter. I already know this fanfic is plenty OOC, but I just love writing Roka... If I had a kid, I'd want one like him. ^_^

BTW- I'll thank the reviewers individually next chapter. But I just want to say thank you!! *glomps everyone, Nakuru-style* And please don't shoot me for not updating Wishing Well yet!

Review if you want to.

--Kaiwawata


	4. Chapter Four

****

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I never have and I never will.

****

Summary: By day, she's a host on the local radio, by night, just another waitress at a café in downtown Tomoeda. Life's hard for Kinomoto Sakura, and it's about to get even harder. Especially when _he_ shows up again... AU

****

Notes: And thank you to all the reviewers. The reviews are much appreciated! ^_^

****

Footprints in the Sand

Sakura opened the door to see a sight that made her hunch over and fall over onto the ground laughing.

Roka making Syaoran play the little game of 'Horsie'.

It was after five minutes that Sakura was able to stand up again, wiping tears away from her face.

Tomoyo was just standing at the door, shaking her head sadly. Roka sure could make the most stoic person bend to his will.

Syaoran glared at Sakura. His face clearly said, I'll-get-you-back-for-this.

Sakura was grinning. She had known that she could depend on her nephew to make Li get a taste of her family. If he thought Roka was the first, Syaoran should see her cousins. They made Roka seem like a little kid. Devious schemes and utter terror on their behalf made the toughest and bravest people squeamish. They didn't usually like to get on the bad side of the Kinomoto family. Their camera skills surpassed that of even Tomoyo, and that was hard to beat. Not to mention the fact that they knew that their cousin had magic, and didn't mind using it at certain times...

"Come on, Roka. Time to get off of Li now," Tomoyo said, pushing the little boy gently off the grown-up's back. "Sorry for any broken bones that you might have sustained, Li. Roka can be a bit of a handful sometimes."

Roka glared at Tomoyo. "Am not!" and he stalked off to Sakura's room.

Syaoran got up from where he had been lying on the floor and was looking over with narrowed eyes at Sakura, who was still struggling to hold in the laughter. She had known that Li would probably be mad with her and all, but still, it had been worth it. To see the look on his face had been priceless, and she knew that Roka had been having fun messing with Syaoran's mind as well. Maybe she should give the kid some money for the good job that he had done today... damn no could do. She was broke. Oh well, she'd manage to think of something else. Touya would probably rope her into baby-sitting one time. At least she'd get free food for it.

Tomoyo watched the interaction between Syaoran and Sakura, but then again, there was none. Maybe there would be some interesting chemistry here. They seemed to have similar personalities, though Tomoyo wasn't quite sure where Syaoran had come from. She knew that he had helped Sakura the night that she had passed out, but that was all she knew. She wasn't sure if Sakura was more informed either. After all, they didn't seem to talk much, and when they did, it usually seemed to just be bickering. Maybe it was time to get into matchmaking mode again, as she had done for Nakuru and Touya...

"Don't even think about it," Sakura said, cutting off Tomoyo's line of thought. She had seen that look on her friend's face before, and it usually meant trouble.

Tomoyo was looking innocent.

"By god, you look like Roka when I've caught him out doing something that he shouldn't be doing. Don't do that to me," Sakura stated. "I have enough trouble with this one as it is." She indicated Syaoran.

"Huh? I didn't think I was that bad," Syaoran replied.

"Believe me, you are," Sakura said back.

"Chan, chan," Roka said, pulling on Syaoran's trouser leg.

Sakura looked at Syaoran with a raised eyebrow. "Chan?" she asked, swallowing her luahger. "What's that about?"

"Secret of the men," Syaoran answered.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever..." She went back to sit down beside Tomoyo. There was a spurt in the kitchen and water began creeping along the floor.

"Problem," Roka said, pointing at the kitchen. "Roka flood..."

"My god... not again... Roka, honey, how many times have I told you not to play around with the taps?" Sakura said, going into the kitchen, and walked around on tiptoes. _This is one hell of a mess,_ Sakura thought, going to turn off the taps. She found it not workking, and water sprayed out in a thin spray and hit her smack in the face.

The sound of luaghter caught her ears.

She turned her glowering face to see Syaoran and Touya laughing their heads off.

Tomoyo was just sitting there, smiling innocently. Roka was beside her, watching with wide eyes as Auntie Sakura tried in vain to clean up the mess.

"Talk about one hell of a day..." Sakura muttered, going to get a mop to clean up what she could.

__

To be continued...

Short. As all these chapters are. ^_^ I can't seem to write long now. Anyhow, will leave you alone now. I have had a big update so far. ^_^ I hope it makes up for the long wait.

Review if you want to.

--Kari


	5. Chapter Five

****

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I never have and I never will.

****

Summary: By day, she's a host on the local radio, by night, just another waitress at a café in downtown Tomoeda. Life's hard for Kinomoto Sakura, and it's about to get even harder. Especially when he shows up again... AU

****

Notes: And thank you to all the reviewers. The reviews are much appreciated! ^_^

****

Footprints in the Sand

"Hey, shoo," Sakura said to Syaoran. "Outside, dork." She pointed to the door. "And take him with you." She pointed to Touya. "He causes me enough trouble already." Sakura turned back to the mess that was still flooding her kitchen and she sighed even deeper with resignation. Her nephew could be an utter nightmare when he wanted to be, and this was obviously one of those days.

Sakura glanced over at Tomoyo and gestured to Roka. "Could you take him upstairs for a bit while I clean up this mess? It could take some time." She looked to her nephew, wondering how he could cause so much mess for someone that small, and then she gave up. It would be some time before she would find out. Her cousins could be just as bad sometimes, she supposed.

Tomoyo looked over the mess once and then started pushing Roka's shoulders gently to help him up the stairs. He was standing there agape as he watched his auntie. "Come on, Roka. We're just in the way."

"But I wanna help Auntie!" Roka said. He was feeling a little guilty for flooding the kitchen.

"Nah, bad idea there, we don't want to get auntie even more annoyed, Li and your daddy did that enough already," Tomoyo said in a cajoling voice. "Come on, let's go."

"Okay..." Roka gave up. He wasn't really all that eager to get wet anyway. He'd rather be upstairs playing with someone, and since Tomoyo was the only one who was going to go with him, he guessed that that was better than nothing. He had had lots of fun with that Li guy this afternoon, and he didn't know why his auntie hated him so much. That Li guy had even played 'Horsie' with him, and there weren't really many people who were willing to do that.

Once Roka and Tomoyo were upstairs, Sakura flicked a hand and the door shut behind them. She didn't want the water spilling up to upstairs. Things went haywire around her house.

__

So this is what I'm reduced to, Sakura thought._ I guess it's better than nothing. I don't mind Roka... usually. But I just wish that sometimes he'd stop fiddling around with things and making my life more difficult than it already is. Something just really seems to be bothering me lately and I don't know what it is. Actually, I think I have a pretty good idea, but it's not what I'd like to admit at all._

I think it's him_. But I don't want him to know anything. After all, I would get so much rubbish from Touya. I saw that look on Tomoyo's face this morning, and I know what she was thinking. I saw that same look when she was looking at Touya and Nakuru. It's that _'Matchmaker'_ look. She tries to look innocent, but she can't pull that look off as well as Roka can, and since I'm her best friend, I know everything that she tries to do. Sometimes people think that I can be incredibly dense, and I guess that I can sometimes, but that's just part of who I am. No one is all seeing and knows everything that is going to happen. Geez, they'd have to be God for that. And I doubt that anything is like that at all._

"You sure you don't need some help?" Syaoran asked. He had come in the door from putting Touya outside.

Sakura looked up, and pushed her bangs out of her eyes to see who it was. "Didn't I tell you what I wanted you to do? And if I wanted help, I would've asked."

"Yeah, right," Syaoran said. "I highly doubt that."

"Stubborn mule," she mumbled.

An arched eyebrow.

"Oh, come on," Sakura said, "you know you are. You can be as bad as my brother sometimes."

"And your brother is bad?"

Sakura just gave him a look. "No, duh."

"And what does that mean?"

"God, you're dense."

"Whatever you say."

"Oh fine," Sakura mumbled. "Just grab a mop."

"What was that?" Syaoran asked.

"Get a freaking mop!" Sakura yelled. "Do I have to spell it out for you?! Or are you beyond that now?!"

"Yep." Syaoran went into the laundry, opened the closet door and rummaged around in all the stuff, finally finding the most ancient mop that he had ever seen. "Yo, what is this? It looks years old," he said, showing Sakura.

"That's my grandma's mop, been in the family for years," Sakura said, then she narrowed her eyes. "And if you break it, I assure you that I am taking _no _responsibility."

"It's yours."

"I know it is, but I'll say that _you_ broke it," she replied, grinning.

"Whatever."

Sakura's eyes darted to the bucket that was sitting on the floor. It was half-full with dirty water that she had already mopped up. She snuck a look at Syaoran once and noticed that he was wearing new _white_ shoes. A plan began forming in her mind.

Sakura mopped up a little more, making sure to make the water disgustingly grey. She tried not to smile, and concentrated on the bucket.

Syaoran noticed her doing something weird, and thought it looked a bit suspicious, but it was too late. Sakura had already knocked over the bucket and the water was seeping dangerously close to his shoes.

His hand flung out and stopped the water dead in its tracks. He looked up, and saw Sakura's face.

Then he realised what he had done.

His cover was blown.

__

To be continued...

Well, thank you very much! And thanks for reading. I'm sorry this chapter took so long and that it's not all that great, but an update's an update right? And there's more to come. I've been feeling a little guilty that I was unable to post anything, so I hope this will do... for now.

Will post updates for Wishing Well and Melody soon. And I haven't forgotten Regretting Looking Behind. That's next on the priorities list. ^_^

--Kari


	6. Chapter Six

****

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. I never have and I never will.

****

Summary: By day, she's a host on the local radio, by night, just another waitress at a café in downtown Tomoeda. Life's hard for Kinomoto Sakura, and it's about to get even harder. Especially when he shows up again... AU

****

Notes: And thank you to all the reviewers. The reviews are much appreciated! ^_^

****

Footprints in the Sand

"You have some explanation for this, obviously?"

Syaoran seldom heard those words; yet, he dreaded each one. They filled him with guilt, for the thing that he would have to do. He didn't know that when he had gotten in with this girl, that she would go to such lengths to get rid of him.

Most just asked him to leave, and he usually complied with their request.

But this one was different. There was something about her that drew him to her, like a moth to a light. There was something, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he knew that something was there. She was like him in some ways, yet she was different. He could tell that she had something like what he had, but he didn't know what.

Maybe it was magic.

Or maybe it was just him being delusional. He didn't quite know.

"Li?"

Syaoran's horrified face rose to meet Sakura's eyes. She was staring at him with the utmost curiosity, obviously wondering what was going on. She had seen him stop flowing water dead in its tracks. Of course, something was going on.

"Um... Sakura?" Syaoran was fiddling restlessly and constantly fidgeting.

"Spill," Sakura said, taking both mops, including the ancient one, and resting them against the damp fridge. "I want to know everything, and since it's a little mildew-prone here, I think we better go to your house. That'll give us privacy, since I know that my nephew and my friend will want to listen in on everything. It seems like you want to keep this to yourself as much as possible, and that you weren't intending to let anyone, much less me, see you do anything like this."

"Okay," was all Syaoran managed to get out. His hands went into his pockets and he rummaged around for his keys among the other crap that was in there. He emptied his pockets out onto the table. Sakura's eyebrows arched further and further up as she looked at the ever-growing pile of mess. The growing disbelief on her face, that Syaoran was happy to pretend not to notice, was priceless. It wasn't often that someone got to see what was in Syaoran's pockets.

Now she was going to think that he was even weirder.

If that were possible.

Sakura was looking very sceptical. "How does all of that fit in there?"

"Magic," Syaoran answered.

Sakura shook her head sadly and sighed deeply. "After what I've seen today, I don't think I'll ever be able to doubt anything. God, this is nuts..."

"Tell me about it," Syaoran said. Seeing Sakura's look, he hastily added, "Actually, don't."

Sakura's look faltered. "I can't believe all this stuff is happening to me."

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, just you? You were the one who tried to spill over the bucket. How did you do that anyway? I didn't see your foot move or the mop move or anything." His gaze was piercing.

Sakura looked a little uncomfortable. "You were the one who froze the water," she pointed out. "If any of us was in the wrong, it was you."

"Me?" Syaoran asked. "How is that? Stopping the water was child's play where I came from... that was the basic stuff."

Sakura's stunned face halted him in his progress.

"I should probably stop here, anything else that I say might put you in danger," Syaoran said. His eyes met Sakura's and communication passed between them with a glance.

"Let's go to your house," Sakura suddenly said.

"Yeah, that might be a better place to discuss this," Syaoran said, sighing and massaging his temples with his fingertips.

Sakura's sharp glance made him hastily correct himself, "I mean, that _would_ be a better place to discuss this."

Sakura was looking pointedly upstairs and Syaoran got the message. "Let me get my jacket." He searched around in the mess for a couple of moments and then tossed Sakura the keys. She caught them in one hand and stared at them suspiciously.

"Yes, they're mine," Syaoran said in exasperation. "Go out and start the car, but don't take off without me. You have no idea where my house is." He stood up, pushed the chair against the table, opened the lounge door and walked out into the space. Eyeing around the room, he spotted his jacket, one that he had flung down on a nearby chair.

He picked it up, and noticed the barest hints of energy signature, affirmation that there had been someone different in here lately. Most likely the brother.

Syaoran saw tufts of brown hair peeking over the top of an armchair rest. His face cracked into a wry half-smile and he shook his head ruefully. He decided not to bother the boy, being it was Roka, and he was meant to be upstairs with Tomoyo.

Syaoran knew that Sakura would be furious with her nephew if she knew that he had been sitting there eavesdropping on their conversation, and maybe she had had some idea, and that was why she was suggesting that they go to his place. It seemed like the right thing to do.

He wasn't really all that willing to talk about this to many other people.

He wanted to keep this secret, but that was unlikely to happen, as news in the Kinomoto household seemed to spread like wildfire. Sakura's family tended to like juicy gossip, spread mainly from Touya and Roka, as they were around the most often.

Tomoyo tended to help out too, as she was Sakura's best friend.

When Syaoran walked back through into the other room that he had been sitting in just moments earlier, Sakura was already gone, and he saw that the floor was still very wet and covered with water. He shook his head sadly, noting both mops were still leaning against the fridge and he looked at the ancient one with almost dismay. The head was almost falling off of its handle. Little bits of sponge flaked off its metal rim. It looked well past its used-by date.

His eyes narrowed a little. Maybe it was time to do something with this thing.

His mind thought better of it. _Nah... _Syaoran thought._ Sakura would probably kill me if I did anything to it. Besides, it's not worth it anyway. I don't really want her wrath on me in any way. She can be one scary person sometimes._ He left the mop alone and walked through the house, seeing Tomoyo coming down the stairs.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of him putting on his jacket. "Where's Sakura?" she asked.

Syaoran shrugged aimlessly. "She's coming to my house, we have something to discuss."

"Oh?" Tomoyo asked with raised eyebrows, a mild look of surprise on her face. "Why?"

Syaoran's eyes met Tomoyo's. He averted his gaze and looked a bit uncomfortable. "There's something that I need to talk to her about, and I can't risk anyone else hearing about it. I'm sorry, Tomoyo, but there's not much that I can tell you. I'm not taking him either." Syaoran pointed his thumb behind him in the direction of the lounge.

"Roka?" Tomoyo asked. "What's he doing down there? I told him specifically to stay upstairs while I came to talk to the both of you in person. There's something that I needed to talk to you about."

Syaoran looked back at Tomoyo again, making sure to keep Roka in check. The boy was hanging off of the seat, lying upside down in the other room, able to see clearly what was going on, but not able to hear anything. He was out of earshot. "Can it wait?" Syaoran asked.

Tomoyo looked out the door to see Sakura sitting in Syaoran's car, tapping the dashboard impatiently with her fingertips and staring out of the window at the rapidly colouring leaves. The seasons were shifting from summer into autumn and the leaves were changing from their usually green colour into hues of red, orange, yellow and brown. The fierce wind created tiny leave twisters and blasted leaves everywhere. The trees were a mix of colours.

Her eyes went back to Syaoran. "Yeah, it can wait." She rubbed the toe of her tarnished brown boot against the floor at a stain absentmindedly.

Syaoran looked Tomoyo right in the eyes and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Tomoyo, I really appreciate it. This is really urgent. I have to talk to Sakura for a while, and then I'll contact you on your mobile and tell you where my house is, etc." He lifted up a leg, tied his shoes quickly, and then shrugged deeper into his coat, feeling the cold chill from the wind as it blustered outside. He shoved his hands deeply into the pockets of his fleece-lined jacket and felt grateful.

He turned back to look at Tomoyo and nodded. Lifting one hand to shut the door behind him, he caught Tomoyo's arm. She turned back to look at him in surprise. "Don't worry about Sakura," he said, "she's safe with me. I'm not going to do anything to her."

Tomoyo looked relieved. "Thank you, Li." She put one hand on the doorknob and another on the frame and shut the door, then heaved a shuddering sigh. _I just don't trust people easily..._ Tomoyo thought. _So far, Li has done nothing wrong. Maybe I'm just too pessimistic. I should let Sakura make her own decisions, but she's made things so hard for herself so far. I'll let Sakura be. She's old enough to take care of herself, but sometimes I fear for her, she hasn't exactly had the easiest life ever._

"Too-moo-yoo?" Roka asked. He pulled on the hem of the top that she was wearing.

She didn't even notice him until he started poking her.

"Huh? Oh, Roka, what is it?" she asked.

"Tomo, what are we going to do about Auntie?" Roka asked again.

"Sakura should be fine," Tomoyo replied back to the child, crouching down to the boy's level. "But how about we go clean up that mess so that it doesn't reek of mildew in here when Sakura gets back."

Roka wrinkled his nose. "Do we have to?" he asked. "I don't like cleaning."

"I know you don't, but it's something that you did, and I know that Sakura and Li started to clean up, but they had to go somewhere and so it's only us here, I'm pretty sure that your dad is still with Nakuru, and we don't want to bother them now, do we?"

Roka shook his head vehemently. "No." He knew how annoyed his dad could get if he was bothered when he was with his girlfriend. That's why he had sent him over to his auntie's, but she wasn't here anymore, so he had to hang out with his auntie's best friend, who was usually quite nice and didn't make him do anything. But he had to clean up the mess that he had made, even though he didn't want to.

It was probably fair though.

His auntie shouldn't have to clean this up. She hadn't been the one that had caused it. He was a little curious about what that Li person was doing with his auntie though. She didn't really like guys that much, and he had been following her around for ages. Well, ever since her accident anyway, and that had been a few days ago.

He had never seen someone who had insisted on spending so much time with her. And also, he'd never seen anyone that had been able to baby-sit him and live to tell the tale. Most ran out of the door screaming. That Li guy had even played "Horsie" with him, something that his auntie had told him to make that Li guy do. The Li guy had been a little reluctant, but he had ended up doing it, and Roka had only been too happy to comply.

"Come on, Roka, we have a lot of work to do," Tomoyo said, and she walked into the kitchen. Then she stopped short. The floor was dry already. Everything was dry, including the bench, sink, and everything else that had been wet. Tomoyo raised one eyebrow. How had this happened? Then she looked down to see Roka's beaming face and she ruffled his hair. "Good job, kid," she said, smiling.

"What did I do?" Roka asked innocently.

"Rascal," Tomoyo said affectionately. "Come on, let's go get some ice-cream and go rent out a movie or something, because those other two could be a while." She picked up her keys from the table and steered an enthusiastic Roka away and out the door. She picked Sakura's house key up on the way out and locked the door, then smiled satisfactorily.

It would be a while before Syaoran and Sakura would be able to get in.

Sakura had forgotten her house key.

And Tomoyo now had it.

Meaning, they would be locked out.

+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+*~*+

Syaoran opened his car door and slid down into the driver's seat. Sakura tossed the keys over to him silently and continued to stare out of the windscreen. He looked at her for a few moments before adjusting his seat-belt, putting the keys into the ignition and starting the car.

Sakura looked over at Syaoran. "How much are you going to tell me about this?" she asked.

"As much as I want to. But not here," Syaoran replied. He pulled out onto the street and started driving towards his house.

Sakura sighed. "Okay then, just let me know when we're there."

"It'll probably be about a half hour or so, I live more out in the country," Syaoran said.

"Okay, then, I'm going to sleep."

"Tired huh?"

"No, duh."

Sakura yawned widely and drifted off to sleep.

Syaoran looked over at her, shook his head a little and focused on the road. There was a lot to tell, and he needed some time to think about it.

Maybe this silence would give him that.

He decided to use it well.

__

To be continued...

Well? This was a more speedy update than the other one. I was intending to make the chapter longer, but... I didn't really want to give more away. Well, thanks for the reviews!

The next update will be sometime next weekend. I won't promise anything though, 'cause you never know with me.

--Kari


End file.
